Francesca Hong’s sudden rise in Wisconsin politics is a textbook example of how anti-gun activists are repackaging the same tired agenda in fresh, progressive packaging. The Milwaukee assemblywoman has already floated “assault-weapon” bans, universal background checks, and red-flag laws that strip due process—measures that would criminalize the very firearms most Wisconsinites rely on for self-defense and sport. What makes her especially dangerous is her willingness to use executive power to bypass the legislature, a tactic we’ve seen in states like New York and California where governors simply declared “emergencies” to enact gun control by fiat. If she wins the governor’s mansion, expect the same playbook: lawsuits from gun groups, emergency rulemaking by the DNR, and a flood of new restrictions aimed squarely at the state’s more than 1.2 million permit holders.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Wisconsin’s constitutional-carry law, which finally freed law-abiding citizens from the old “may-issue” regime. Hong has already signaled she would treat that statute as an executive punching bag, promising to “review” it the moment she takes office. That review would almost certainly include new training mandates, magazine limits, and a push to re-impose discretionary permitting—moves that would disproportionately hit rural counties where sheriffs have neither the staff nor the inclination to play gatekeeper. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s own crime statistics show that the city’s strictest gun laws have done nothing to disarm gang members; the only people who would be disarmed by Hong’s proposals are the very citizens who already obey the law.

For the 2A community, Hong’s candidacy is a live-fire exercise in what happens when single-issue voters stay home. Wisconsin flipped red in 2022 largely because gun owners turned out in force; another razor-thin gubernatorial race could easily swing the other way if complacency sets in. The stakes are not theoretical: a Hong administration would join Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota in a tightening noose around the Upper Midwest’s gun culture, turning what is now a shall-issue, constitutional-carry state into yet another cautionary tale. The only firewall left is an electorate that remembers how quickly “common-sense” becomes confiscation when the person holding the pen also holds the power.